Constituency Review Submission from Peter H Dollard
Peter H Dollard
Submission ID: S533
Date
10/05/2023
Constituency
Louth, Meath East
Hi,
The trend is there with 15% of Drogheda’s population now in Meath, and more of the Dublin population migrating north, Drogheda in Meath is going to eventually be bigger than Drogheda in Louth. That’s inevitable.
Before being merged Drogheda was always split between the two counties. Either move more land for the 4th time into Louth or bite the bullet and move Drogheda into Meath as that’s where it’ll eventually be.
City status should be given to Dundalk and Drogheda, along with Swords, Tallaght, Blanchardstown, Bray etc. Newry is a city and has half the population. Are we going to merge with NI and accept their cities that are smaller than our towns? We’re no longer under Norman control, so we define the rules for city status.
Alternative is to setup a new town that can give proper representation, or better merge South Drogheda into Bettystown and add an extra Bettystown seat in Meath. Why should the people of East Meath be grouped into Louth, when there are now enough in the area to have their own extra Meath seat.
Council and TD headcount should be halved. Particularly the council as they have no real power, with the county CEO and council public service workers defining the budget and what gets done. All council do is meet once a month and complain. No need for them.
Take care,
Thanks, Peter H